Report reveals low level of school toilet use

Of the 152 secondary pupils surveyed, two thirds (65%) said they don't use toilets at all during the school day, mainly because they felt the toilets are dirty and unsafe.

Of the 457 primary school pupils surveyed, 18% said they don’t use school toilets at all, with a further 34% saying they use them just once a day.

Lowered school toilet standards

The Government passed changes to the School Premises Regulations in 2012 making it impossible to legally force a school to provide adequate toilet cleaning and maintenance and sufficient supplies of toilet paper and soap.

Poor school toilets

School toilets are often unhygienic, poorly maintained and lack privacy. This poses a serious infection risk and can contribute to children developing continence problems. In a previous study, 84% of school staff stated that they believed these health issues would also have an impact on learning.

ERIC and the Paediatric Continence Forum campaigned against changes to the School Premises Regulations, raising concerns that children’s facilities will further decline in the absence of adequate regulation.

Please tick if we can contact you again to keep you informed about the work you make possible and how you can support us in the future. We promise to respect your privacy: we will never share your details with any other organisations and we will always make it easy for you to opt out of further contact